Shopify Masters | The Ecommerce Business And Marketing Podcast For Ambitious Entrepreneurs

Before the historic NBA championship win by the Toronto Raptors in 2019, the team made it to the playoffs in 2014 and launched Yanal Dhailieh into the perfect moment to start his lifestyle and community brand, Peace Collective. By wearing a "Toronto vs. Everybody" t-shirt to a Raptors playoffs game and getting featured in a TSN documentary, Yanal turned that moment into an apparel brand that generates millions in revenue annually and two retail stores. In this episode of Shopify Masters, you'll hear from Yanal Dhailieh of Peace Collective on how to build a community, grow from viral moments, and create your own virality. For more on Peace Collective, Yanal Dhailieh, and show notes: https://www.shopify.ca/blog/peace-collective-viral Tune in to learn How to create a viral moment How to educate your customers on your cause Why storytelling is your biggest advantage over bigger companies and how to do it

Sali Christeson quit a corporate job to pursue the dream of building a fashion brand for ambitious women to look and feel good while breaking barriers. Counterintuitive to most tips for entrepreneurs, Sali credits her MBA for building her well-rounded set of skills. In this episode of Shopify Masters, you'll hear from Sali Christeson of ARGENT on how to build a fashion brand from the ground up. For more on Sali Christeson, ARGENT, and show notes: https://www.shopify.ca/blog/argent-mba Tune in to learn Why you might want to get an MBA before starting your business What is a brand book and what needs to go in a brand book How do you measure that you are making progress with building your brand

During a golf tournament, Jeremiah Curvers was injured and got a double herniated disk. Bedridden for three months, Jeremiah got to think a lot about mattresses and what he wanted to see in his ideal mattress. Motivated by his research, Jeremiah launched Polysleep to create a direct consumer sleep brand that offers better rest while making a social and environmental impact. In this episode of Shopify Masters, you'll hear from Jeremiah Curvers of Polysleep on how to partner suppliers and physical stores. For more on Polysleep and the show notes: https://www.shopify.com/blog/polysleep-partnership Tune in to Learn How to partner with physical stores to showcase your product Their tricky pre-Black Friday email that sold out all of their Black Friday products How to create high converting content with your affiliates

While working at a desk job, Ryan Popoff took on leatherwork as a creative outlet. Initially making a minimalistic wallet for himself, Ryan's wife Jill, encouraged him to sell what he made online. Ryan then launched Popov Leather and grew the business from a basement rental to earn seven figures annually while supporting 12 full-time employees. In this episode of Shopify Masters, you'll hear from Ryan Popoff of Popov Leather on how to take outstanding product photos and how he works with micro-influencers. For more information on Popov Leather and show notes: https://www.shopify.com/blog/popov-leather-influencer Tune in to learn The key components for product photos that lead to conversions The most important question to as in a post-purchase survey Which channel for micro-influencer marketing to focus on and why

Mel Wells was inspired by her roommate's desire for a 1920s styled swimsuit to start Beefcake Swimwear. Initially sewing pieces herself, Mel then took the time to research and find sustainable fabrics and an ethical American manufacturer. Taking two years before launching, Beefcake Swimwear is a true reflection of Mel's dedication to thoughtfully produce androgynous vintage-inspired swimwear. In this episode of Shopify Masters, you'll hear from Mel Wells of Beefcake Swimwear on why it's important to grow at your own pace and how to create a brand that authentically reflects who you are. For more information on Beefcake Swimwear and show notes: https://www.shopify.com/blog/beefcake-swimwear-time Tune in to learn How you can still succeed in business when you’re not a risk-taker What to do if you’re an entrepreneur that likes starting businesses but tend to jump around Why hiring a PR agency is a worthwhile investment

Remi Silva and Alondra Carbajal were vacationing in Japan when inspiration hit. While most visitors to Tokyo are busy seeing sites and indulging in the local delicacies, Remi was mesmerized by the wide selection of stickers and wondered why the U.S. lacked behind. Once back home, the couple put the idea into action and started Blank Tag Co. and has built the stickers company to a multi six-figure business while still having day jobs. In this episode of Shopify Masters, you'll hear from Remi Silva of Blank Tag Co. on how he as automated his business and why keeping his day job helps his business. For more information on Black Tag Co. and the show notes: https://www.shopify.com/blog/blank-tag-co-automation Tune in to learn How processes remove motivation from the equation Why you should not start with Facebook Ads first and where you should start instead What you should test tweak within your first ads

Stacia Guzzo's mother's breast cancer diagnoses got her into researching the possible causes. The discovery of aluminum's possible link to cancer motivated Stacia to make her own natural beauty products. Stacia found her niche with aluminum-free deodorant and started SmartyPits. From a hobby beekeeper who made lip balms, Stacia honed in on her specialty and scaled her business to seven-figures. In this episode of Shopify Masters, you'll hear from Stacia Guzzo of SmartPits on how she found her niche and the decisions she had to make to scale her business. For more information on Stacia Guzzo, SmartyPits, and show notes: https://www.shopify.com/blog/smartypits-scale Tune in to learn What is story-based marketing and why it’s so effective How to identify whether an idea is great or awful How do you know if you’ve gone niche enough

Colin Macintosh turned the end of a tech startup career into a new beginning for building his own brand. Built on a cheeky pun, Sheets & Giggles grew from a simple business model of offering sustainable and comfortable bedding directly to consumers into a brand that's projecting $2.4 million in sales this year. In this episode of Shopify Masters, you'll learn from Colin Macintosh of Sheets & Giggles on how he builds a successful crowdfunding campaign and found his niche with eucalyptus lyocell sheets. For more information on Colin Macintosh, Sheets & Giggles, and show notes: https://www.shopify.com/blog/sheets-and-giggles-business-model Tune in to learn The business model you should follow to improve your chances of success How they created an 11,000 subscriber email list before launching Why a completely unrelated Reddit post drives them traffic and sales

Nat Elison decided to test out his content marketing skills from running his own marketing agency by launching his own blog. As a longtime tea lover, Nat started Cup & Leaf to blog about all things tea. He publishes on a consistent schedule, reworks content to rank higher on search, and curates products for the online store. Since the launch of Cup & Leaf in early 2018, the website now sees 250,000 monthly visitors and brings in $5000 in monthly revenue. For more information on Nat Elison, Cup and Leaf, and show notes: https://www.shopify.com/blog/cup-and-leaf-blog Tune in to learn When you should actually spend time on content marketing and SEO The content plan they used to grow to 250,000 monthly visitors How they drive sales from blog to physical store

Shopping for some pricy speakers got Andrew Lissimore looking into buying them directly from the manufacturer. After scoring a pricing sheet, Andrew realized there's a healthy margin and an opportunity to sell online. When his first sale came in a few weeks later, Andrew knew he was onto something. To learn more about Headphones.com and shownotes: https://www.shopify.com/blog/headphones-domain Tune in to learn: Why you don’t need to see the entire path towards your goals to get started How they created a forum and use it to increase traffic and sales How they were able to get a million dollar domain like Headphones.com without paying a million dollars

While most people enjoy a few rounds of golf on the weekend, Tyler Sullivan became obsessed with the game and wanted to achieve the longest drive. Along the way, Tyler got custom clubs and drivers made that ended breaking so he started to make his own. Realizing that others might face the same frustration, Tyler started BombTech Golf and began selling the clubs and divers he made. For more information on BombTech Golf, Tyler, and shownotes: https://www.shopify.com/blog/bombtech-golf-personal-messages Tune in to learn How to get your customers to converse with you over email How to hire the best Facebook ad experts How to create an irresistible offer when customers visit your page

Being the dog owner of a Saint Bernard named Harley, Tyson Walters was constantly on cleaning duty and barely kept up with Harley's shedding. Realizing that he's not alone, Tyson came up with the idea of Shed Defender and started prototyping breathable onesies for dogs to reduce shedding cleanups. After going viral, testing out infomercials, and being on Shark Tank, Tyson shares the lessons learned along the way. To learn more about Tyson, Shred Defender, and the show notes: https://www.shopify.com/blog/shed-defender-use-case Tune in to learn How to educate your customers so they’re confident to make a purchase What happened when The Shred Defender got featured on a viral website like The Dodo The results from doing an As Seen On TV commercial

Dylan Jacob grew up running his own businesses and knew early on when to change course and adapt. Ever since high school Dylan grew a small phone repairs business into a parts manufacturing company and later founded a company that offered the largest color selection of tiles in the United States. Despite reaching financial success, Dylan always viewed these ventures as "buffer businesses" and only found his true calling when he dove deep into solving the common problem of how to keep drinks cold. To learn more about Dylan, BrüMate, and the show notes: https://www.shopify.com/blog/brumate-pivot Tune in to learn Do you really need to fly to China to meet with manufacturers Why Facebook might drive low-quality leads and how to improve the quality of your leads When to pivot your business and what happens when you do

Adrian Wood went from making music on his laptop to producing for the likes of 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, and Eminem. Beyond catchy composition and rhythm with a hook, he discovered that there were many hopeful producers who lack access to digital assets like drum kits or synth loops to create the songs they had in their minds. Ever since joining Modern Producers as the CEO in 2013, Adrian is on a mission to deliver these digital assets to up-and-coming producers and has built a loyal community of monthly subscribers and outsourced almost all of the content production. Click here for more information on Modern Producers and show notes: https://www.shopify.com/blog/modern-producers-subscription In this episode of Shopify Masters, you'll learn from Adrian of Modern Producers on how he built a sustainable business selling digital products through a subscription model.

JP Brousseau dropped and broke his fair share of phones. Sick of replacements and repairs, he started Phone Loops and designed finger and wrist straps that give users a secure and comfortable grip on their devices. Despite solving a common problem, having massive media coverage, and being a part of the Oscars VIP gift bags, JP credits project management as the key to Phone Loops’ success. In today's episode of Shopify Masters, you’ll hear from JP and COO of Phone Loops, Alex Gingras on how one project management tool helped them to reach millions of sales. Tune in to learn How they appeared on national TV programs, received media coverage, and got to be apart of the Oscars VIP gift bags What questions your Facebook ads consultant should be asking you How to scale a 2,000 influencer marketing program Show Notes: https://www.shopify.com/blog/phone-loops-product-management

With more and more celebrities and athletes starting successful businesses, it seems like being already-famous can be quite the headstart. But that doesn't get you out of all the things that can make succeeding in business hard. Chris Gronkowski is a former NFL player who learned the hard way that having a sizeable following is no substitute for a product that truly serves the market. In today's episode of Shopify Masters, you’ll hear about the humbling moment when he realized that simply pushing his product wasn't going to be enough, and how he built his ecommerce business from scratch to do $3 million in sales. Ice Shaker is the ultimate cup used for every aspect of a healthy lifestyle. Brand new product, you’re on top of the world. But people out there who have never heard of it before aren’t just going to jump on the bandwagon because you think it’s cool, just because they follow you. You really have to build some kind of proof of concept, some reviews, and really start building a brand. Tune in to also l

There are many ways to tap into B2B sales as a B2C brand, depending on your products. Corporate gifts are one entry point. In today's episode of Shopify Masters, you’ll learn from a trio of entrepreneurs who bootstrapped their way to a $9 million business thanks in large part to their corporate gifting strategy. Chelsea Moore, Jenni Olivero, and Sabena Suri are the co-founders of BOXFOX: pre-curated gift boxes for every milestone, with the option to build a 100% custom gift using their BUILD A BOXFOX platform. Show Notes: www.shopify.com/blog/boxfox-corporate-gifting

When you first launch, you're faced with one set of problems—polishing your site, making sales, and becoming profitable. As you scale, those problems change with every new level of growth you achieve. In this episode of Shopify Masters, you’ll learn from two entrepreneurs who recently grew their business from 7 figures to 8 figures about the new problems they encountered, from hiring the right people to fixing a toxic company culture. Show Notes: http://www.shopify.com/blog/moonglow-scaling-problems

Giveaways are a common marketing tactic in ecommerce, often taking the form of a free product or a gift card. But some go even bigger with their prizes. In this episode of Shopify Masters, you'll learn from Justin Burnash, founder of Prime Driven, about how they give away entire cars (you read that right) while still making a profit. Justin Burnash is the founder of Prime Driven: a 7-figure business and one stop shop for Toyota car parts. Show Notes: www.shopify.com/blog/prime-driven-car-giveaway

One look at your traffic sources will likely tell you that mobile shopping is becoming the new normal. And with this shift in consumer behavior comes the growing importance of mobile-first conversion rate optimization. In this episode of Shopify Masters, you’ll hear from Michael Levy, CMO of Pete & Pedro, about how they created a mobile website with a 4.5% conversion rate. Pete & Pedro is a company that sells premium grooming products to help men become more confident and look their best. Transcript: http://www.shopify.com/blog/pete-pedro-mobile-cro